Our old jobs paid biweekly, with an offset schedule, so we got a paycheck every week. Our new jobs pay us monthly within 2 days of each other. It makes it hard to feel wealthier! We only get to budget once a month now, instead of having something to play with every week. Having all this money makes budgeting less fun...

I totally feel your pain. I switched jobs last month and went from monthly to weekly payment. All my bills + transfers to savings and investments were automatic so I cancelled a lot of them. I'm transferring savings + investments manually now until I've found the most convenient new bill paying routine.

Switching pay periods is painful. 95% of my working life I was paid on the 1st of the month, those few occasions I was forced to do bi-weekly were awful. I felt like I never had any money.Weekly paychecks were a nuisance - one week didn't quite pay the rent for the month, ugh:(

Anything other than monthly is silly. I pay all my bills monthly. Until that changes, there is no reason for my paycheck not to follow the same pattern.

I used to be 100% commission, paid monthly, so I always lived on last month's money. I've also been semi-monthly, bi-weekly and weekly. I agree that monthly is/was* easier. I have noticed there are more and more "Choose your payment due dste" options than ever. This would have been really helpful back in the days when my variable semi-monthly paycheck (also 100% commission) often didn't even cover my whole mortgage payment. Ugh, I don't miss those days.

I'm taking two months off between jobs, which I can easily afford as I had a month of leave saved up which, as I save half my income, completely funded my two months off. I also have 6 months emergency fund and I use YNAB so I live on last months income, so I effectively have 7 months worth of expenses saved.

People have been very stressed about how I am financially affording my holiday. Many people have offered to try and hook me up with a job over summer, or have joked that I can sleep on their couch in the second month when I can't afford rent.

I've tried to explain that I had leave saved up and also have an emergency fund, but it doesn't quite seem to click/outside of comprehension.

Now I just nod and say that I'll take them up on the offer "if my finances start to look a bit dodgy".

I'm taking two months off between jobs, which I can easily afford as I had a month of leave saved up and, as I save half my income, completely funded my two months off. I also have 6 months emergency fund and I use YNAB so I live on last months income, so I effectively have 7 months worth of expenses saved.

People have been very stressed about how I am financially affording my holiday. Many people have offered to try and hook me up with a job over summer, or have joked that I can sleep on their couch in the second month when I can't afford rent.

I've tried to explain that I had leave saved up and also have an emergency fund, but it doesn't quite seem to click/outside of comprehension.

Now I just nod and say that I'll take them up on the offer "if my finances start to look a bit dodgy".

I don't anticipate that I'll have to take anyone up on their offer...

Haha. Some of my colleagues have a bit of similar reaction to my decision to work 80%. Obviously people have trouble imagining that someone doesn't spend their entire income.

I would like a big cardboard box for my son to play in. We have no plans to buy or upgrade any large household items any time remotely soon. I guess we'll just hope it doesn't rain the day after Christmas when all our neighbours will put out their new giant TV boxes.

I’ve been testing some carbon footprint calculators, but couldn’t get the results to make sense. Then I realized; when they ask you to enter your income, they will calculate 100% of that as spending on stuff. When I subtracted savings, it removed several tons from my footprint. Now I only have to figure out how to account for us using 50% of “normal” water consumption, and keeping our house at a temperature several degrees below the lowest alternative in the questionnaire.

I’ve been testing some carbon footprint calculators, but couldn’t get the results to make sense. Then I realized; when they ask you to enter your income, they will calculate 100% of that as spending on stuff. When I subtracted savings, it removed several tons from my footprint. Now I only have to figure out how to account for us using 50% of “normal” water consumption, and keeping our house at a temperature several degrees below the lowest alternative in the questionnaire.

;-)

I think that most people will indeed spend whatever they make in the same year. E.g. they save up every month for a vacation later in the year, or for a home improvement.

We are the small group if weirdos that plan to spread our income out over multiple years and thus buying less stuff each year.

What kind of calculators have you been using Gaja? All the ones I've seen just ask you how much you spend on X. Because different product categories have very different footprints (e.g. electronics, meat or car/flights high, public transport and plant-based food low).

So I have an HSA, to which I contribute from pre-tax payroll deductions. I'm planning to FIRE at the end of January (yay!) and I was hoping to front-load the entire annual limit of $7000 into the account before I go.

I called the HSA administrator, and they said "sure you can do that, but it takes 30 days to make a change to your payroll deductions." I asked when I could make the request, and they said "After the first of the year." So in other words -- if I'm leaving at the end of January I won't be able to fill up my HSA with payroll deductions. So ridiculous, antiquated and clunky. My only other option is to write a check, which they allow. But that's after-tax money, and then I guess I have to wait until tax filing time in 2020 to get my money back via tax credit.

What kind of calculators have you been using Gaja? All the ones I've seen just ask you how much you spend on X. Because different product categories have very different footprints (e.g. electronics, meat or car/flights high, public transport and plant-based food low).

Some Norwegian ones, mainly ducky.eco. Also tested one from uk with the same issue, but can’t remember the name now. CO2 footprint from food and electricity varies from country to country, so it is often difficult to use calculators from other countries.

Got a modest pay rise today. Instead of immediately celebrating because more money = more consumption, I had to come home and update FIRE spreadsheets to see how much extra freedom it was worth. Cutting 6 months off my compulsory work time? Great! Now I can celebrate.

So I have an HSA, to which I contribute from pre-tax payroll deductions. I'm planning to FIRE at the end of January (yay!) and I was hoping to front-load the entire annual limit of $7000 into the account before I go....

What are your health insurance plans for the rest of the year? If you aren't sticking with an HSA-eligible plan, you can't contribute the full amount anyway. If you have an eligible plan for the month of December, you are treated as if you had such plan for the whole year and can contribute the full amount. But if you do not, then your allowed contributions are prorated by the number of months you had such a plan.

That's a good one! I don't have a TV myself but I forgot how to turn on my parents'. Last year I was there and I wanted to watch the olympics while no one else was home. I literally had to call my mom and ask "How do I turn on the TV?" as if I were a 3 year old child :p. TVs have gotten so much more complicated over the years!

One of my credit cards is giving 5% cash back at gas stations next quarter. Can't take full advantage of that when we hardly ever buy gas...

Chase Freedom? I was thinking the same thing.

Walgreens visa gift cards. You pay $506 for $500 load but get 25k points which could be worth up to $37.50. I done this the last few quarters from supermarkets, drugstores, etc. kinda a pain since they are suspicious of gift card purchases and limit to $500 “per product” but still worth the trip for the sweet points

We have five freedom cards in the household and have the CSR so we did enjoy the $562 in travel funds. Sadly we were able to spend the gift cards pretty quickly

I don't turn on the heat when it's unnecessary, which means it's only on when I'm home and even then not to a high temperature as I've gotten fairly resilient to the cold.

Now I wanted honey in my tea and it's all cristalized within a few weeks from buying it due to the cold :o

boil it. Or just stick it in your tea still crystalized.I transfer my honey into a mason jar with a lid instead of the container it comes in. That way when it inevitably crystalizes because I don't use it often I can still scoop it out for things where it being crystalizes doesn't matter. And if I do need to decrystslize it I can just stick the jar in a pot of water and not worry about it melting like the plastic container it comes in.

I don't turn on the heat when it's unnecessary, which means it's only on when I'm home and even then not to a high temperature as I've gotten fairly resilient to the cold.

Now I wanted honey in my tea and it's all cristalized within a few weeks from buying it due to the cold :o

boil it. Or just stick it in your tea still crystalized.I transfer my honey into a mason jar with a lid instead of the container it comes in. That way when it inevitably crystalizes because I don't use it often I can still scoop it out for things where it being crystalizes doesn't matter. And if I do need to decrystslize it I can just stick the jar in a pot of water and not worry about it melting like the plastic container it comes in.

Anyone try making "creamed honey"? My understanding is that if you put mix regular honey with creamed honey it will take on the crystalline structure of the creamed honey.

I don't turn on the heat when it's unnecessary, which means it's only on when I'm home and even then not to a high temperature as I've gotten fairly resilient to the cold.

Now I wanted honey in my tea and it's all cristalized within a few weeks from buying it due to the cold :o

boil it. Or just stick it in your tea still crystalized.I transfer my honey into a mason jar with a lid instead of the container it comes in. That way when it inevitably crystalizes because I don't use it often I can still scoop it out for things where it being crystalizes doesn't matter. And if I do need to decrystslize it I can just stick the jar in a pot of water and not worry about it melting like the plastic container it comes in.

Yes that's what I'll do. It's not a big deal overall as for tea it will just dissolve anyway (I felt it sweetened my tea to a lesser extent tho?). I buy honey in glass bottles so I usually just put in in the thermos I save the water for my 2nd cup of tea in :)

I was just surprised to find out my honey had crystallized so quickly as this usually only happens if I don't use it for a long time!

Our health Insurance is making us change for prescriptions from Walgreen's to either Walmart or CVS. Since we don't have CVS near us from the Thread I started in "Other Topics" least Favorite places to go I now am going from my least favorite in Walgreen's to my second least favorite Walmart. I guess I should look at that as a positive...

I never gave this any thought but my Costco Citi Visa card gives 4% rewards for gas. But my question is, if I make a purchase AT a gas station like $50 in deli purchase or other stuff inside the gas station, would those purchases give me a 4% reward? I am doubtful about that but curious!

I don't purchase much gas so this reward goes mostly unused. So sad...

Our health Insurance is making us change for prescriptions from Walgreen's to either Walmart or CVS. Since we don't have CVS near us from the Thread I started in "Other Topics" least Favorite places to go I now am going from my least favorite in Walgreen's to my second least favorite Walmart. I guess I should look at that as a positive...

But my question is, if I make a purchase AT a gas station like $50 in deli purchase or other stuff inside the gas station, would those purchases give me a 4% reward? I am doubtful about that but curious!

I'm not sure if the reward would still count for purchasing stuff inside the gas station (although I don't see why not) but the wicked high prices would negate the benefit of the reward.

But my question is, if I make a purchase AT a gas station like $50 in deli purchase or other stuff inside the gas station, would those purchases give me a 4% reward? I am doubtful about that but curious!

I'm not sure if the reward would still count for purchasing stuff inside the gas station (although I don't see why not) but the wicked high prices would negate the benefit of the reward.

I never 'shop' at gas stations but a lot of them have deli's and other odd ball stuff. I never paid much attentions because I usually pay at the pump. But, if I could get 4% rewards for purchasing something somewhat useful, it would be worth looking into.

But my question is, if I make a purchase AT a gas station like $50 in deli purchase or other stuff inside the gas station, would those purchases give me a 4% reward? I am doubtful about that but curious!

I'm not sure if the reward would still count for purchasing stuff inside the gas station (although I don't see why not) but the wicked high prices would negate the benefit of the reward.

I never 'shop' at gas stations but a lot of them have deli's and other odd ball stuff. I never paid much attentions because I usually pay at the pump. But, if I could get 4% rewards for purchasing something somewhat useful, it would be worth looking into.

It's certainly possible, but the only way to find out is to try a small purchase. That being said, I am skeptical a 4% discount on gas station purchases would ever make up for their convenience-store markup

But my question is, if I make a purchase AT a gas station like $50 in deli purchase or other stuff inside the gas station, would those purchases give me a 4% reward? I am doubtful about that but curious!

I'm not sure if the reward would still count for purchasing stuff inside the gas station (although I don't see why not) but the wicked high prices would negate the benefit of the reward.

I never 'shop' at gas stations but a lot of them have deli's and other odd ball stuff. I never paid much attentions because I usually pay at the pump. But, if I could get 4% rewards for purchasing something somewhat useful, it would be worth looking into.

It's certainly possible, but the only way to find out is to try a small purchase. That being said, I am skeptical a 4% discount on gas station purchases would ever make up for their convenience-store markup

Agreed. Though you may be able to buy gift cards for a cc churn and get a bonus 5% that way.

I am not an advocate of shopping at a gas station, but if you can churn money why not! If you might buy deli grinders on a Friday night, that might add up to $40. Some chips and some other junk might jack it up to $50. Not a million dollars but each little purchase adds up.

I am not an advocate of shopping at a gas station, but if you can churn money why not! If you might buy deli grinders on a Friday night, that might add up to $40. Some chips and some other junk might jack it up to $50. Not a million dollars but each little purchase adds up.

Or don't buy anything at all. Not spending money is a much more effective way of saving than "saving" by spending less.

All this hype about "saving" through sales, discounts, and rebates is bullshit. You are not "saving" you are spending!

This Christmas, I made a few DIY gifts (winter toques) for DD and our helper. I had extra yarn, so yesterday, I made a hat for myself. Today, we went out with friends, and I wore my new hat. One friend commented that she really liked my hat, so I gave her my hat. It was snowing. She didn’t have a hat, and I had a hood on my jacket. My sisters also saw my hat and now they each want one as well.

So because I Mustachian-ly DIY’d my own hat, I now have to make three extra hats. I may even have to buy more yarn. 😱

First snow storm in my new house, and as I'm shoveling my driveway, my neighbor on one side snow blows my sidewalk while the other comes over and snow blows the rest of the driveway for me.

I thank them both and am obviously grateful for their generosity, but how do I tell them that I prefer to shovel for exercise and enjoyment without sounding like an ungrateful dick?

I guess I'll just have to wake up earlier and beat them to it. :)

In about 5 years the novelty of shoveling snow will wear off then you will have no offers to help. Let them do it and maybe do something for them without being asked. Or buy them a gift cert at a grocery store or a bottle of booze. If you want to shovel, please come to my house! I have 3 long sidewalks and a two driveways! Not to mention out on the road where my mailbox is. Oh, and out back where the oil delivery comes must be shoveled.

First snow storm in my new house, and as I'm shoveling my driveway, my neighbor on one side snow blows my sidewalk while the other comes over and snow blows the rest of the driveway for me.

I thank them both and am obviously grateful for their generosity, but how do I tell them that I prefer to shovel for exercise and enjoyment without sounding like an ungrateful dick?

I guess I'll just have to wake up earlier and beat them to it. :)

In about 5 years the novelty of shoveling snow will wear off then you will have no offers to help. Let them do it and maybe do something for them without being asked. Or buy them a gift cert at a grocery store or a bottle of booze. If you want to shovel, please come to my house! I have 3 long sidewalks and a two driveways! Not to mention out on the road where my mailbox is. Oh, and out back where the oil delivery comes must be shoveled.

Thanks, Dad, but I'm 42 and have been shoveling my whole life. My unsolicited advice to you would be to re-read the name of this thread.

This Christmas, I made a few DIY gifts (winter toques) for DD and our helper. I had extra yarn, so yesterday, I made a hat for myself. Today, we went out with friends, and I wore my new hat. One friend commented that she really liked my hat, so I gave her my hat. It was snowing. She didn’t have a hat, and I had a hood on my jacket. My sisters also saw my hat and now they each want one as well.

So because I Mustachian-ly DIY’d my own hat, I now have to make three extra hats. I may even have to buy more yarn. 😱

Newest discussion. I made the mistake of entering the following (paraphrased) conversation.

Them: "Oh, what are you doing?"

Me: "Nothing too much, just mending some clothes while I watch some TV*." (*By 'TV' in this case, I mean watching some free stuff on Twitch.tv. I like having something on to watch while I hand-sew or rag-braid.)

Them: "Mending? Can't you just buy new clothes?"

Me: (Biting back my rant about the wastefulness that is the fashion industry) "No, it's ok, I'm almost done, and this isn't hard."

Them: "Oh, so what are you mending?"

Me: (sigh) ". . . a bra."

Awkward conversation change quickly ensues.

Ugh! Comfortable bras that fit are hard to find. Plus, I'm willing to spend a little more and/or frugal hack, to not buy clothes that were made in sweatshops. (When I have to buy clothes at all, that is). And yes, you're darn right I'm going to mend pretty much everything I own, especially my bras, since they tend to be the most expensive part of my wardrobe! Why is this so confusing?

I have very primitive sewing skills, I only use it to darn socks and re-sew holes, sew on buttons, etc in clothes, and yes little items for my youngest for her barbie and polly pocket dolls (blankets, mattresses, pillows, simple outfits).

My youngest has been bugging me to show her how to sew, but I honestly don't have time. This week when I visited my ex's house there was a sewing machine set up, and apparently she is learning how to sew! I am so glad because she is always thinking of new things she wants for her barbies (she watches youtube videos of various "hacks") and now will be able to make them herself.

. It's simple alterations: re-hem pants or a skirt, reinforce a button before it comes off, all the little things.

Yes! My sewing skills aren't that great, and I still can do these things. And thank you for reminding me, I've got a skirt that needs to be re-hemed.

Also, as a little kid, I was taught that one of the ways to judge the quality of store bought clothes is how well the buttons were sewn on! I've no idea if that's actually true, but it does seem to be an accurate test in my limited experience.